Phil Alvin walked on stage by himself, and after a heartfelt thanks to the sold-out crowd at the Observatory opened his set with a solo take on the standard “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” – the perfect choice for a special show that saw Alvin’s band the Blasters joined by fellow L.A. roots-rock icons Los Lobos, X and the Knitters.

The song fit the night for a handful of reasons. Saturday’s concert was organized as a benefit to help Alvin pay medical bills after a life-threatening emergency last year. The tune was written for a Depression-era Broadway musical called New Americana, a title that might easily be applied to the genre the Blasters and this bill’s other bands helped create some 30 years ago.

And it quite aptly fit with the theme of brotherly love and caring that felt evident throughout the night, given that Alvin’s brother and sometimes band mate Dave Alvin helped organize the benefit, while all the musicians on stage have been brothers-in-arms since they were newcomers.

For fans, who snapped up the 1,000 or so $30 tickets as soon as they went on sale, the five-hour show was a thrill, a chance to see bands that might have played clubs together circa 1981 but certainly hadn’t shared the same stage for many, many years.

The Knitters, who were alt-country before that term existed, opened the night with a set that mixed old-timey country, folk and gospel along with rearranged versions of punkier classics by X, whose members John Doe, Exene Cervenka and D.J. Bonebrake make up three-fifths of the group. (Dave Alvin and Jonny Ray Bartel complete the roster.)

Their set, launched with “Poor Little Critter in the Road,” the title track to their 1985 debut, established a country-punk hoedown vibe, fueled by the solid, stripped-down rhythms of standup bassist Bartel and Bonebrake, whose kit included just a snare, cymbal and washtub for a kick drum. “Something to Brag About” and “In This House That I Call Home” showed off the back-and-forth duet style and close harmonies that Exene and John Doe perfected long ago.

But it was Dave Alvin’s blistering guitar solos that cranked up the Knitters’ to their most raucous level, going on extended runs during “Long Chain On” and “The New World,” before wrapping the set with a long rave-up at the finish of “The Call of the Wreckin’ Ball.”

The Blasters were up next, and after Phil Alvin’s solo moment he brought out the band’s current lineup – original bassist and drummer John Bazz and Bill Bateman plus guitarist Keith Wyatt, who replaced Dave Alvin when he left the group years ago.

“When I was in Spain and my throat blew up, the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was these guys, the Blasters,” Alvin said, referring to his expensive near-death experience on tour last year. “And then I saw a bill.”

They roared through one short, sharp song after another, including “Fun on Saturday Night” (title track from last year’s album), “Long White Cadillac” and “Daddy Rolling Stone” before inviting out Exene to duet on the Johnny & June classic “Jackson.”

“I love my brother, and therefore this is a brotherly love benefit,” Phil Alvin said by way of reintroducing Dave to the stage. And with that, the true Blasters lineup was recreated for a run through the band’s best-known material, with “Border Radio” and “Trouble Bound” among the highlights.

Even more so than with his superb playing during the Knitters’ set, Dave was on fire during these songs, prowling the stage with leaps and jumps and laying down solos during “American Music” and “Marie, Marie” that were revelations of what he can do when he sets aside his folk ‘n’ country singer-songwriter persona for a night.

Before the set ended, he paid tribute to his big brother, too: “I’d be a fry cook in Long Beach without him.” As for Phil, the final song of the Blasters’ set, “One Bad Stud,” seemed a fitting appellation for a guy who flat-lined in a Spanish emergency room, had to have a tracheotomy to survive and came back singing as strong as ever here.

X followed the Blasters, guitarist Billy Zoom joining the three who’d already warmed up as the Knitters – and they, too, turned in the kind of set one hopes to hear, relying on their first four albums for songs instantly recognizable to a crowd who mostly seemed like they’d been following these bands since their pompadours lacked any gray and their tattoos all had vibrant colors.

Their set opened with “Your Phone’s Off the Hook, But You’re Not,” and standouts included “The Have Nots,” a version of “Los Angeles” that segued into “The World’s a Mess; It’s in My Kiss” and “The Hungry Wolf.” John Doe’s cowboy guitarist persona from the Knitters shifted back into punk bassist reeling around the stage, while and D.J. Bonebrake played a heavy, hard beat on a full kit this time out. Exene’s hypnotic dancing perfectly offset Zoom’s trademark beatific smile and stillness. After roaring versions of “Johnny Hit and Run Paulene” and “Soul Kitchen,” their Doors cover, it was midnight. Most of the crowd here probably would have gone home happy then, although one more set was to come.

Los Lobos, or a version of the band at least, played the final hour of the night – David Hidalgo and Conrad Lozano both were missing, but César Rosas, Louie Pérez and Steve Berlin brought along a few friends to flesh out the lineup. With Hidalgo’s tender voice missing, the band’s set hewed closer to the roots and rhythm & blues side of Lobos’ repertoire.

“Shakin’ Shakin’ Shakes” got their set underway, after which Rosas and company dipped into the band’s Spanish-language songbook for numbers like “Chuco’s Cumbia” and “Cumbia Raza.” Harmonica player Tex Nakamura joined for a few songs, and Dave Alvin – the hardest working man in show business this night – joined for the final half of the set.

It was a loose, fun set – think of it as the after-party jam session, maybe – and when it wrapped up after long workouts on Sir Douglas Quintet’s “She’s About a Mover” and Lobos’ own early staple “Don’t Worry Baby,” it put the cap on a warm charity drive for a guy all these players – and their fans – clearly love.

Set lists: Brotherly Love: A Night for Our Brother Phil Alvin at the Observatory, Jan. 25, 2013The Knitters*: Poor Little Critter on the Road / … / Rank Stranger / Something to Brag About / Give Me Flowers While I’m Living / In This House That I Call Home / Long Chain On / The New World / Dry River / Poor Old Heartsick Me / The Call of the Wreckin’ Ball

* Slightly incomplete. The ellipsis in the Knitters’ list signifies that one song is missing, possibly two or more. The question marks in Los Lobos’ set are a Spanish-language song, the title of which eludes us.

Peter Larsen has been the Pop Culture Reporter for the Orange County Register since 2004, finally achieving the neat trick of getting paid to report and write about the stuff he's obsessed about pretty much all his life. He regularly covers the Oscars and the Emmys, goes to Comic-Con and Coachella, reviews pop music, and conducts interviews with authors and actors, musicians and directors, a little of this and a whole lot of that. He grew up, in order, in California, Arkansas, Kentucky and Oregon. Graduated from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Ore. with degrees in English and Communications. Earned a master's degree at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Earned his first newspaper paycheck at the Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat, fled the Midwest for Los Angeles Daily News and finally ended up at the Orange County Register. He's taught one or two classes a semester in the journalism and mass communications department at Cal State Long Beach since 2006. Somehow managed to get a lovely lady to marry him, and with her have two daughters. And a dog named Buddy. Never forget the dog.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.